My name is Zaj (the j is silent) and I’m currently going to Como Park Sr. High as a junior in 2016. I love to work with my hands and build things. I’ve rebuilt a house with my dad back when I was young and build many things with Legos, even a 3ft long Battleship! By the time I was 15 I was looking for a job through Right Track to find a job where you can build stuff from wood or any kind of material. I found Urban Boatbuilders on the list but I was one year too young to join, fast forward one year I came back again but this time I came to the booth where Angela was at. I applied, got interviewed and hired. What we build is cool, we got to make our own Paddle or Toolbox and personalize them.

Before I came to Urban Boatbuilders, I was a Second Degree Blackbelt at the World Taekwondo Academy there I would help out the lower belts. I’ve been doing Taekwondo for 7 years and got my second degree in the summer of 2015. I got my first silver in a long time when I went up and Spar against one of our Black belt students and a State Team Member. Three of the tallest under 18 black belts. I was able to bring some skills that I learned from Taekwondo into Urban Boatbuilders like, how we use the grain to make it easier to cut, and a stance that’ll help when planing.

After Urban Boatbuilders I would like to go into the trades and work as a woodworker or carpenter and maybe a metal worker too. I would gladly come back as a Youth Instructor and pass on some of the skills that I’ve learned.